Pokemon: Life or Death
by fpmJake
Summary: Deep within the mines of Terminus Cave rests the legendary Pokemon Zygard, who is said to monitor the ecosystem of the Kalos region. However, when destruction sets its sights on the Kalos region, Zygard senses this disturbance long before any Kalos residents do. Upset and disturbed by this threat, Zygard throws the ecosystem off balance, starting a series of natural disasters.
1. Storm

Skies were dark and cloudy all day, casting a gloomy vibe over the Kalos region's Parfum Palace. The day began early with strong winds that toppled the garden's many potted plants and threatened to uproot the small trees decorating the area. Normally a vibrant area full of play and excitement from visiting trainers, the Parfum Palace garden was cold and desolate as people took refuge inside to prepare for an approaching storm.

Count Hamilton, an elderly man who looked after the palace, had opened its many bedroom doors for travellers in need of refuge while waiting for the storm to pass through. The Lumiose Press reported a severe thunderstorm warning for Western Kalos that was expected to run through the night. As such, Hamilton agreed to allow those who couldn't book a hotel room to book an overnight room at the Palace at an affordable price.

Inside the palace was packed. Travellers of all sorts —including trainers, coordinators, breeders and much more—were all scouring the palace for an empty bedroom to call their own for the night. People were admiring the fancy architecture and decoration of the palace designed by the king many years ago. Cell phones were ringing as travellers contacted their loved ones to assure them they had found safety. And wild Pokémon ran through the halls, also taking refuge from the storm.

"How long until the storm starts?" asked Jake, a 20-year-old boy from Ambrette Town who was on his way to Lumiose City to pick up his first ever Pokémon from Professor Sycamore.

Jake was of average height and slightly skinny. He had light brown hair that was styled messily on the top with the sides buzzed to a much smaller length, giving the impression of a faux "faux-hawk." Jake had light blue eyes and wore a pair of black thick-rimmed glasses. He had on a black button-up shirt with a classy-but-very-casual red and gold floral print. He wore dark black jeans and a pair of black, gold-studded sneakers.

"Hopefully soon…I just wanna get this storm over with," said Serena.

Serena was also 20 years old and was a childhood friend of Jake's. The two grew up in Vaniville Town together until Jake moved to Ambrette Town about two years ago. Serena had very long, thick, light brown hair and wore a black blouse and red skirt. She was visiting Jake in Ambrette Town so the two could head to Lumiose City together and begin their journey as Pokémon trainers at the same time.

The skies suddenly grew significantly darker, and the winds picked up outside when suddenly a stocky man in a blue t-shirt busted abruptly through the palace's backdoors.

"Help!" He shouted. "My Furfrou ran off into the garden and I can't find him! Help!"

There was a blinding flash across the palace's windows as lightning struck outside, followed moments later by the deep rumble of thunder. An immense downpour of rain began, beating violently against the windows. The man fell to his knees and burst into tears.

Jake and Serena looked over as a nearby boy jumped to his feet and dashed for the backdoors leading to the garden, his Squirtle following closely behind. He was a tall muscular boy in his early 20s. His skin was a very light shade of brown and he had short freshly buzzed black hair. He wore a black V-neck, a light-blue wash of slim jeans, a red plaid shirt hanging from his waist that trailed behind him as he ran and a pair of dark brown combat boots.

Immediately upon stepping outside, the boy became drenched in water and strong winds threatened to knock him over. His Squirtle held its ground and ran directly toward the center of the garden with him. In the distance, he could barely make out the silhouette of a Furfrou cowering underneath the statue of a large black dragon at the back of the garden.

Suddenly, a strong gust of wind uprooted one of the nearby bushes and sent it flying directly toward the boy. "Squirtle! Use Protect!" The Squirtle closed his eyes and a protective dome surrounded the two, shielding them from the bush. The two then turned back toward the statue and resumed running, only to find that a gust of wind had created a vortex of water in the form of a twister that was coming straight for them.

"Quick! Use Ice Beam!" The Squirtle let out a thin stream of icy blue energy that froze the twister in its tracks. Now almost at the statue, the two of them dashed right for the Furfrou, ducking to dodge a nearby pot that was fly at the boy's head.

The Furfrou whimpered as the boy cradled the dog Pokémon in his arms and ran back into the palace, dodging even more obstacles the storm had created.

Jake watched as the boy burst through the palace doors, absolutely drenched in water. His Squirtle followed by his side and collapsed in exhaustion. The Furfrou hopped out of his hands and ran to his owner. The stocky man hugged his wet dog Pokémon ecstatically, happy to see his best friend survived. The boy fell to he knees, shivering in a puddle of rainwater.

Jake reached into his bag and pulled out a large towel, and ran over to the boy. "Here, take this," Jake said throwing the towel over the boy's shoulders. Serena fed the Squirtle some berries for recovery. "Are you gonna be ok?" Jake asked the boy.

The boy looked up from the ground at Jake and then turned away upon making eye contact. "I'm fine," he said sternly as he got to his feet and walked coldly off with his Squirtle.

"Ughh, what's his problem?" Jake asked Serena as he shook his head and shrugged.

"I wouldn't worry about it. I'm sure he's just embarrassed to be so soaking wet in front of all these people," Serena said.

***

That night, Jake and Serena were sitting in bed, laughing and smiling as they reminisced growing up together in Vaniville Town.

"Remember during homecoming when we all got caught sneaking up on our high school roof?" Serena asked, already laughing at the story.

"Oh my god, yes!" Jake said giggling. "The look on Mrs. Anderson's face when she looked up to see all of us on top of the school!"

The two continued reminiscing when the boy from earlier peaked his head into the room. He saw Jake and Serena and then stood just outside the doorframe, his Squirtle perched on his shoulder. "Hi, um. I'm Ty," he said shyly. "I just wanted to speak to you really quick." He gestured toward Jake.

"Of course!" Serena said with a smile. "I'll just step out for a second."

"Squirtle, you go with her." Squirtle hopped off Ty's shoulders and jumped into Serena's arms. Serena then walked past Ty and into the hall to play with Squirtle.

"Come have a seat. I'm Jake by the way and that's my best friend, Serena," Jake said. "What's going on?"

Ty walked over and sat down next to Jake on the bed. "I just wanted to thank you for giving me that towel earlier. I know I was a little bit of an asshole."

"Don't worry about it," Jake said with a smile.

"Well thanks. Just sorry about earlier. Being out there was….tense, and then coming in I guess I just got a little shy. I'm not really such a dick."

Jake laughed. "Stop worrying about it. We can start over with a clean slate." Jake patted Ty on the arm.

Ty smiled and turned to look Jake in the eye. "So…you and Serena know each other pretty well, then?"

"Yeah, we grew up together in Vaniville. Until I moved to Ambrette a few years ago," Jake said. "We've been friends forever."

"That's cool," Ty said. "Then what are you two doing here?"

"We're on our way from my house to Lumiose City to pick up our starter Pokémon from Professor Sycamore," Jake said. "What about you? Where are you from and what are YOU doing here?"

"I'm from Dendemille," Ty said. "I actually got my Squirtle from Sycamore a few days ago. I came to Camphrier Town for some extra training and to catch a second Pokémon. I'm heading back to Lumiose tomorrow to challenge the gym leader Clemont. I had to come to the palace for storm shelter, though."

Jake nodded. "Awesome! I can't wait to get my first Pokémon tomorrow. I'm gonna challenge the gym leaders, too. Just not sure where to start yet."

"I'm kind of in the same boat. I figured I'd start with Clemont and go from there. Anyway, it's getting late. I should get to bed. Thanks again for earlier," Ty said.

"Goodnight." Jake smiled

Ty left the room and Serena walked back in shortly after. "What was that about?" she asked.

"It was…nothing," Jake said with a smile.

The two of them got ready for bed and then fell asleep to the patter of rain against the palace walls.


	2. Ghost

Jake and Serena woke up late the next morning to surprisingly bright and blue skies. The sound of bird Pokémon chirping could be heard outside the window and wild Pokémon were running through the Parfum gardens again.

"Good morning," Jake said with a yawn as he extended his arms in the air stretching. "Sleep well last night?" Jake laughed as he looked down at the fancy bed designed for royalty they had slept on last night.

"Better than I've ever slept in my life," Serena said. "Seriously, how much do you think this bed even costs?"

Jake got up and looked out the window to see that the outside had been greatly flooded from the storm, but the palace's staff had already begun cleaning the garden to its original state.

Jake and Serena showered and got ready for their big day. They headed downstairs, surprised to find that a buffet-style brunch was being served to the palace's overnight visitors. They grabbed a quick brunch and then headed out the palace front doors to Route 6, thanking Count Hamilton for his hospitality on the way out.

There was a straight path leading south from the palace. Trees aligned the walkway on each side creating a canopy of tree branches and leaves that hung overhead. Light shone through the openings illuminating the walkway. Jake looked on either side of the path as they walked and saw that the fields outside the garden had been completely flooded.

"Hey!" Serena said excitedly pointing forward. "Isn't that Ty?"

"Yeah, I guess it––" Jake was interrupted as Serena dashed excitedly toward Ty, waving her arms to get his attention.

"Hey! Ty! Behind you! It's us!" She shouted.

Ty turned around and stopped uncomfortably in his tracks at Serena's outburst. Squirtle jumped from his shoulder and ran into Serena's arms, happy to see his new friend again.

"Uhh, what's going on?"

Serena caught up with Ty and then shoved him slightly so that he was now walking along the path with her. "Heading to Lumiose City with you. I mean, that's where you're going, right?" Ty nodded, taken aback by Serena's pushiness. Serena turned back and gestured for Jake to follow. "Come one Jake!" Jake ran ahead and caught up with the two, walking between Serena and Ty toward Camphrier Town.

The sun was setting by the time the trio reached Camphrier Town, and none of them had eaten since brunch at that palace that morning. The three of them stopped at a café for dinner and then headed to the PokeCenter to book a room for the night. The three of them spent the next few hours talking about their upcoming journey before finally heading to bed.

Jake laid in bed restless. He tossed and turned, unable to fall asleep. There was too much on his mind. Tomorrow, Jake would be receiving his very first Pokémon ever, and officially begin his journey as a Pokémon trainer. Since he was young, Jake always dreamed of being a Pokémon trainer. If he had had it his way, Jake would have left the house at ten years old to start his journey, but money was tight in his family, and he thought it best to leave at a later age, saving money to get his journey started.

Unable to sleep, Jake quietly got out of bed, slipped some clothes on and headed outside. He sat on the porch steps of the PokeCenter, gazing at the moon, dreaming of his journey.

The PokeCenter doors opened behind Jake. Startled, he turned around to see Ty. "Something wrong?" Ty asked, sitting down next to Jake.

"Nahh. Just thinking," Jake said calmly.

"About?..." Ty said, raising his eyebrows as he pried for more.

"I dunno, I guess I'm just kind of nervous to be getting my first Pokémon tomorrow. I've dreamed of doing this forever, but now I'm just starting to question myself"

Ty smiled and put his arm around Jake. "Don't do that," he said. "You've already made it this far. I mean, I know it's not a huge feat, but you travelled from Ambrette Town to Camphrier Town without a Pokémon. Once you get your starter, things will only get easier from there."

Jake smiled and rested his head on Ty's shoulder. Ty held him closer and the two sat in silence, staring up at the moon. Kricketots could be heard chirping from the nearby bushes, Hoothoot were cooing in the trees and the faint cry of a Murkrow sounded in the distance. The cries of nocturnal Pokémon came to an abrupt stop, being replaced moments later by a deep rumbling in the distance.

"Another storm?" Jake asked.

"No," Ty said listening intently. "I think it…a minor tremor."

Jake heard a loud clang and turned to see a shadowy figure bolting toward the northern end of the town.

"Did you see that?!" Jake asked jumping to his feet.

"No, what was it?" Ty asked. Jake took off in pursuit of the figure and Ty followed after.

"Jake! Wait! I don't have Squirtle with me!"

The silhouette was much slower than the two, and as they got closer, Jake could make out the figure was a man in a suit of armor, running directly at Camphrier Town's Shabboneau Castle.

"Hey! Stop!" Jake shouted.

The man in armor ignored, and ran directly into the castle's doors, but instead of opening them, he ran directly through them, as if he was transparent.

"Huh?" Jake and Ty stopped dead in their tracks, confused at what they just saw. Ty walked to the castle doors and tried opening them. "They're locked," he said nervously.

"Did we just see a…ghost?" Jake asked.

Ty frowned. "I'm not really sure what we just saw, but I think we should get out of here."

The two ran back to the PokeCenter and crawled into their beds. Exhausted, Jake had no problems falling to sleep.

***

"Where were you guys last night?" Serena asked early the next morning after waking them up. "I woke up from the tremors and you two were gone. What happened?"

Jake and Ty told the story of the ghostly encounter to Serena, who was very interested in the story. "I'm gonna ask Nurse Joy if she's heard anything about this armored man," she said.

Serena bolted out of the hotel room and down the hall toward the center's lobby. "Serena, slow down!" they shouted chasing after her.

"Nurse Joy! Nurse Joy!" she shouted, throwing herself to lean over the PokeCenter counter.

"Yes dear?" Nurse Joy asked with a smile.

"Well, my friends were outside last night when the tremor happened and—" Nurse Joy interrupted.

"Oh, are your friends ok?" Nurse Joy asked with a concerned tone in her voice.

Jake and Ty walked up. "Yes, we're fine but—" Joy interrupted Jake.

"Yeah, it's been strange lately," Joy said. "Tremors have been occurring more and more frequently in this area, and storms have only been getting  
more violent. I'm sorry I don't really have any more information on last night's tremor."

The trio paused for a second. It was true that Kalos had been experiencing a lot more natural disasters lately.

"Yeah that's strange, but what Serena is trying to tell you as that after the tremor, we saw something odd," Jake said.

Joy's expression suddenly turned to a more serious one. "What was it?" she asked.

"Well, we saw a man in a suit of armor, and he ran through the doors into Shabboneau Castle.

Joy took a second to think before responding. "You know, you're not the first ones to tell me that story," she said.

"Huh?" Ty said.

"Lately townsfolk and travellers alike have been sharing tales of a mysterious man in a knight's suit of armor roaming the streets at night," Nurse Joy said. "The general consensus is that it's some sort of apparition."

"How long has this been going on for?" Ty asked.

"Come to think of it, I'd say the sightings started around the same time that these tremors have," Joy responded.

"You know what?" Ty said. "I think what we saw really must have been a ghost."

"Creepy," Serena said.

"Yeah, anyway, let's head to Lumiose City. We're supposed to be at the lab at 4 to pick up our Pokémon," Jake said.

The trio left and then made their way onto Route 5 toward Lumiose City.


	3. Café de l'Amour

The trio crossed through a small tunnel connecting Route 5 and Lumiose City, upon exiting the tunnel, they emerged onto the vibrant and bustling streets of Lumiose City.

"It's gorgeous here!" Serena exclaimed, throwing her hands dramatically in the air. "You know…I've always been a big city girl stuck in a small town." She looked down at her watch and then back up at Jake and Ty. "It's only one! We've got three hours until our meeting with Sycamore. I'll see you guys later. I'm going shopping!"

Serena took off in the direction of one of the corridors leading to central Lumiose City.

"Serena! Wait!" Jake shouted after her.

Serena turned around and shouted while running backward. "No time to talk! I need a new wardrobe! Let's meet at 3:30 in front of Prism Tower!"

Jake nodded as Serena took off into the distance. He then turned to Ty. "So what should we do for the next few hours?"

Ty placed his hands in his jeans' pockets and shrugged. "I dunno. I've never been to the city before. You know anything to do here?"

Jake shrugged back. " I've never had a chance to visit either, but I know there's lots to do," he said. "I'm kinda hungry, how about we grab lunch at one of the cafés?

Ty nodded in agreement, patting his stomach. "Same, I'm starving, how about we go eat over there?" He pointed to a nearby café.

Jake nodded and the two walked over. A sign hung above the café's doors, but its name was in a different language that neither Jake nor Ty could understand. Inside, they were greeted warmly by a host, who sat them at a small booth for two in the corner of the café. Inside, the café was dimly lit. Aside from a few lamps hanging from the ceiling, the only things lighting the place were the candles placed on each of the tables. Overall, it was pretty empty, except for a few couples scattered across the café that all seemed deep in conversation. A soundtrack of slow-tempo music filled the room with good vibes.

Shortly after being sat, a tall woman with a black ponytail wearing an apron approached them. "Hi gentlemen," she said with a smile. "I'm Mindey, I'll be taking care of you today. Is there anything I can get you started off with?"

They each ordered a sandwich and an iced coffee that was served to them about ten minutes later.

"So why did you end up moving to Ambrette Town after spending your whole life in Vaniville?" Ty asked between bites of his sandwich.

"Well my mom had to relocate because of her job, and I wasn't quite ready to start my journey at the time, so I kind of had no choice," Jake said.

"What about your dad?" Ty asked.

Jake paused for a second before responding. "Well….my dad actually died when I was very young, so it's always been just me and my mom. Which is why when she had a higher paying job opportunity in Ambrette Town it was hard for her to turn it down."

"Wow. I'm really sorry to hear that," Ty said with a slight frown.

Jake smiled. "No don't feel sorry. Like I said, I was very young when we lost him. It was definitely hard at the time, but it happened so long ago that the scars have definitely healed."

Ty nodded. "Yeah, I can actually kind of relate to what you've gone through. When I was just three years old, my dad walked out on my mom and me, so I've never really had him around either."

"So it's just been you and your mom, too?" Jake asked.

"No," Ty shook his head. "When I was about 8 she was dating this guy that she had my little brother with, but they, too, split up. So it's been me, my mom, and my little brother."

"I've always wanted a brother," Jake said.

"Yeah…I love it," Ty said. "We're ages apart, but my brother has always been my best friend. I love the way he looks up to me and I can really depend on him for anything."

Jake smiled.

"He's actually kind of bummed now that I'm off on my journey," Ty said. "Mom's said this past week has been rough on him."

"I'm sure you miss him too," Jake said.

"I do," Ty said. "But I'll be back home visiting soon enough."

At that point, Jake and Ty had been done with their lunches for almost a half hour, deep in conversation. Their server, Mindey, came back with their check. "Alright, and who should I give the check to?" She asked with a smile.

"Oh, can we actually have the bill split between us?" Ty asked.

"Oh…" the server seemed taken aback. "Sorry, lemme take care of that. I just thought you might want to pay for your boyfriend."

"Boyfriend?" Jake and Ty both exclaimed half-embarrassed.

The server laughed. "Yes! I mean this IS Café de l'Amour––Lumiose's famous couples café! The number one dating hotspot in the country!"

Jake and Ty's faces turned a deep red as they each looked downward in embarrassment. The server walked off to split the check into two.

"That was…awkward," Ty said shyly.

"Yeah…." Jake scratched the back of his head. "Now that I think about it, my ex boyfriend used to always tell me about this café in Lumiose that he wanted to take me to. I remember its name was in French. I feel kind of dumb for not remembering before we came in here."

"Ex boyfriend?" Ty asked. "So you do like boys, then?"

Jake laughed. "Yeah, I do. What about you? Did she just accuse a straight boy of liking men?"

Ty laughed too. "Not at all. I'm gay too." The server dropped off their checks. "Now let's get out of here before one more person thinks we're dating." The two paid their bills and walked out of the café laughing.

It was now 2:30, so Jake and Ty decided to walk around and do some sightseeing before meeting Serena outside Prism Tower.


End file.
